In Youth Eternal - Origins

Chapter 2: Memories

Princess Celestia slowly awoke with a pounding headache. The alicorn gritted her teeth and slowly shook her head. Much to her irritation, the headache did not subside.

The regal alicorn found herself at the dead end of a dimly lit hallway. A decrepit red carpet covered the floor, with worn designs. The dirty beige paint of the walls flaked as a sign of disrepair. Lining the aged walls were equally aged wooden doors. The hallway was not too long, with only several doors lining each side before it reached the other end. A final door was present there, waiting to be opened.

“Where... Where am I?” she asked herself, rhetorically. Princess Celestia had every right to be confused, having woken up in a strange environment. “The last thing I remember... of course. That assassin...” muttered the alicorn to herself. The distraught alicorn pondered for the ensuing moments if she had died from the explosion, and had ended up in the afterlife.

“I might as well take a look around...” she said to herself. Fortunately, Celestia’s headache began to wane, allowing for more coherent thoughts that weren’t distracted by the pain in her head. With that, Princess Celestia, with the use of her magic, opened the nearest door and stepped through.

The regal alicorn was rather surprised by what she saw. She found herself standing in the middle of a lush plane. Vast fields of green stretched far and wide, ending at the foothills of surrounding mountain ranges.  The most prominent feature was a lone oak tree, almost as ancient as the grass that filled the area. She quickly glanced back to see the door she came through was still there, though it stood by itself, attached to no wall of any sort.

It was then that a certain sound caught her attention.

“Mommy! Daddy!” a young voice called out. Princess Celestia’s ears perked up as her head swung back around to face what was in front of her. “This is gonna be wonderful!” the voice cried in excitement.

Mysteriously, a small number of ponies had conjured before her when she glanced away. The alicorn’s eyes went wide, almost gasping at the sight.

A little white filly playfully rushed towards the lone oak tree. Her mane was all too familiar; the colors matching that of her own. It was then, that she noticed others behind her. Seeing who followed the filly brought tears to Princess Celestia’s eyes.

Princess Eclipse and Dusk; her mother and father, followed behind the happy filly version of Celestia with two baskets. One contained an infant Luna. The other contained food.

Upon reaching the oak tree, a blanket was spread out on the grass, and various items of food were lifted from the basket, spread out on the blanket.

Princess Celestia remembered this scene well. It was a fond memory; a memory of her first family picnic. She looked upon the memory of her younger self. How happy she was. How she enjoyed life so much. And her mother...

Her mother, Princess Eclipse, was simply immaculate. Her form was sleek, graceful, and youthful. Her flowing orange mane was as brilliant as ever. The scene only served to bring more tears to the distraught Princess Celestia. She had to wipe her tears away, lest her vision turn blurry.

The scene continued on for a few more minutes before fading away, leaving the alicorn alone in the memory of the grassy field. With no further business there, Princess Celestia turned to leave, without a single word.

The Princess of the Sun found herself back in the same mysterious hallway. There were still other doors to explore. Given what she just witnessed, she suspected each one led to a significant memory. With that in mind, she continued the exploration of her mind.

As she expected, Princess Celestia came upon various memories from her past. One door led to the instance of her first successful teleportation spell. Another door led to the time when Princess Eclipse broke up the first argument she and her sis Luna had.

Princess Celestia was deep in thought, having gone through the doors one at a time. Eventually, the alicorn came upon the last door; the one at the end of the hallway. ‘Last one...’ she thought.

With a touch of magic, the final door crept open, with the alicorn stepping through. While the rest of her memories were rather fond ones, this memory in particular was different. Different in a way that horrified Princess Celestia.

Discord stood before a group of frightened ponies; clenching an ethereal spear in his talon. A loving mother stood in his way, protecting the targeted filly. It was then that a familiar stallion darted in the way as the malevolent Discord threw his spear. The magic weapon stuck the fatherly unicorn, ending his life in a single blow. Princess Celestia burst into tears, frantically outstretching a hoof.

“Father!” she cried, but yielded no response. It was but a memory after all. The alicorn could do nothing but grit her teeth as tears of sorrow flowed freely from her eyes. “Compose yourself, Celestia. It’s just a memory...” the Princess demanded to herself. It was then that a sudden shift in scenery occurred; the environment fading to black, followed by a new one fading into existence.

She found herself standing over her dying mother in the old chamber that once housed the Elements of Harmony. Caressing the dying alicorn was none other than her younger self and a memory of Luna. Princess Celestia stomped a hoof on the cobblestone floor. She couldn’t take it any longer, being forced to watch her mother die again.

Feeling her strength leave her body, Princess Celestia collapsed on the floor, sobbing all the while. With her eyes closed, she failed to notice the environment fade to black once more. This time however, it remained as a dark void.

“Celestia...” a distant voice called.

Princess Celestia opened her eyes; her tears finally drying. The voice that spoke to her was so... familiar. Just hearing it began to put her at ease, with a surreal, relaxing calmness.

“Celestia...” it called again.

“Who’s there? Please, who are you?” inquired the regal alicorn, quickly standing up on all fours. She couldn’t put her hoof on it, but she knew that voice. It was one she hadn’t heard for 200 years.

With that, a blinding light suddenly appeared before her in the dark void. Princess Celestia brought a hoof up to shield her eyes as she winced back. Once the light faded, she lowered her hoof to see what appeared before her. To this, her eyes widened with shock.

“Mo... Mother?” she choked. The alicorn couldn’t believe her eyes. A single tear appeared, rolling its way down her cheek.

A warm, motherly smile formed upon the visage of Princess Eclipse. “Hello, my little pony,” she spoke softly, with a warm tone to her voice. Princess Celestia felt a wonderful sensation wash over her briefly. She couldn’t help but quickly trot over to the alicorn before her, quickly embracing her in a spur of the moment.

Princess Celestia very quickly took note of how much taller Princess Eclipse was, despite being a fully grown alicorn herself. Then came the realization; this too was but a memory. The Princess of the Sun concluded that her mother seemed to be so much taller than her because in all of her memories, Princess Eclipse towered over her.

“Celestia... live on, my little pony. Go, and do not falter!” she calmly commanded, smiling warmly at Celestia.

Princess Celestia was just about to say something, but was interrupted  before the words could escape her lips.

“Now... Wake up.”

*     *     *

“Wake up!” a voice cried.

Princess Celestia grunted, shifting under her covers.

“Sister! Please, wake up!” the voice reiterated.

The regal alicorns eyes suddenly shot open; her blurred vision sharpening into a crisper image of her surroundings. She was in the castle infirmary.

“Oh thank heavens...” said the voice. Princess Celestia shifted her eyes to see her sister standing by her bed.

“Luna?” she asked, her voice weak.

“I’m here, Celly,” choked Luna, delicately embracing her sister. “You are lucky to be alive!” Princess Luna, upon finishing her last sentence, had let go of Princess Celestia to give her more space.

“Ah yes... The assassin...” she muttered. The injured alicorn let out a sigh as she relaxed her body. She still ached, although she was at least recovering. Princess Luna nodded solemnly. “Where is the doctor?” she inquired.

“Doctor Patches left to pick up extra medical supplies. He should be returning soon,” Luna answered.

“Ah... I see. How long have I been unconscious?” she inquired, curious to how much time had passed. She hoped it hadn’t been too long.

“It has been... 3 days, Celly,” Luna answered. It struck Princess Celestia with complete shock. Luna reassured her, taking note of her shocked expression. “It’s true, sister. I had taken over sun setting and raising duties while you were out,” Celestia was a little relieved to hear that. Holding on the sun and moon cycles was never a good thing.

“Ho ho! Has our Princess of the Sun finally awakened?” a voice called out cheerfully. Star Swirl the Bearded trotted into the room, having overheard the conversation. He was relieved to find that Princess Celestia had finally awakened. “You gave us quite a scare!”

Princess Celestia managed a smile, glad to see the familiar Star Swirl the Bearded. “My apologies, old friend,” she chuckled, despite it hurting to do so.

“Oh, no need to apologize! Just get well soon!” he said, gesturing enthusiastically.

“Star Swirl the Bearded... could you please leave us for a moment? I have something I wish to discuss with my sister,” said Luna, glancing over at the aged unicorn.

“Very well,” he replied, giving a short bow. With that, he exited the room.

Princess Luna looked back towards her injured sister. “Celly... You called out for mother...” she murmured. A look of grave concern overcame her visage. Princess Luna suspected Celestia took the ordeal 200 years ago even harder than she did. She may have been right.

“I see...” her solemn voice replied. The injured alicorn let out a sigh as her horn lit up. “Please don’t worry, Lulu,” she said warmly, using the little nickname she gave Luna as a sign of affection. “I just need a walk is all.”

“But sister... your injuries...?” said Princess Luna, the tone of her voice changing to one of curiosity in mid sentence. She witnessed her elder sister encompass herself in a golden light. A certain warmth emanated from the magic energy that covered her injured body. The Princess of the Night watched as the scorch marks and bruises that littered her body began to fade.

Once the light faded, Princess Celestia smiled up at Luna. “A little something I devised in my spare time,” she said, answering the question she knew her sister had.

“But... One does not simply just do away with severe injuries like that!” asserted the dark blue alicorn, gesturing with a hoof as she spoke. “How did you do it?”

“When you have the raw power of an alicorn, and the right technique, you can,” retorted Celestia as she rose from the infirmary bed. “I will have to share it with Star Swirl some time,” she chuckled.

“Now. To deal with the situation in Equis,” Celestia began, pacing back and forth. “I want to place a spy within the ranks of their government. I want to find out as much as we can about their plans.” Princess Celestia seemed very serious, with good reason at that.

“Of course, sister. I shall arrange for that. Please... take your walk. I think you need it,” said Luna, concern ever so present in her voice.

“Yes... Thank you, Lulu,” the white alicorn replied, a smile creeping its way upon her visage. “I’ll go do that, then.” Princess Celestia felt relieved. Deep down, she felt it important to tend to something else first before dealing with Equis and their government. However, the burden was moved onto Princess Luna, which allowed her to focus on her other issue. With that, she trotted out of the room.

However, Princess Celestia had a specific destination in mind.

*     *     *

The castle library contained shelves upon shelves of books and tomes, covering a wide variety of interesting subjects. From magic, to agriculture, to history. If somepony wanted information, they went to castle library.

Upon arriving at her book filled destination, Princess Celestia promptly dropped her facade from earlier; the one she used in the infirmary with Princess Luna and Star Swirl the Bearded. In truth, she was far more distressed than she let on. After the assassination attempt, the alicorn’s life had flashed before her very eyes. The Princess of the Sun had been sent into a traumatizing near-death experience. A frightening wake up call for an immortal like Princess Celestia, is to discover...

Her very own mortality.

The alicorn had come face to face with it recently. At this point in her life, after the death of her parents. After her own near-death experience, she feared the prospect of dying, which brought her to the library. Princess Celestia sought information to change all of that.

Her thoughts raced in her head as her regal form trotted around the library, up and down the aisles, reading through book after book on the subject of life and beyond.

‘I don’t want to die... I can’t just yet!’ cried her inner thoughts. She could not help but feel determined to live. To live for her mother. To live for Equestria. To live in order to avoid her greatest fear.

With that, Princess Celestia began her search for knowledge; to discover the secrets to eternal life. It was the only way. Determined, the regal alicorn wouldn’t let her existence falter; to die and fade into mere memory like her mother before her.

‘I... will never be a memory...’